Cairo, Egypt & Jerash and Amman, Jordan: Day Ten (11/29)

Goodbye Egypt and Hello Jordan.

Memphis Tours which helped us organize our Egypt leg of our trip was fantastic and we had nothing but high expectations for our Jordan and Israel legs but little did we know that they partnered with Dakkak Tours which was one of the worst travel agencies I have ever been on as you will see each day's guide and/or driver gets worse and worse. Don't bother complaining because they will just call you a liar. This company is a fraud and does not deliver on its promises.

Early in the AM, we left Cairo. On the way to the airport, our guide Mohamed took me to the grocery store to buy some more Cadbury Eclairs. Because we left at 5 AM in the morning there was no traffic and it took just 20 minutes to get to the airport. It was eerie to see Cairo at 5 AM without any cars or people. It was so peaceful and quiet and very un-Cairo.

After being escorted into the airport and a quick boxed breakfast, we took a quick 1 hour flight to Amman, Jordan. Upon arrival, we were greeted but our representative wasn't so helpful. He just yelled at us to get in line and pay. We were not sure how much to pay and that we needed Jordanian money to pay for the visa. We were also going to spend a day in Israel before leaving Jordan. He was as helpful as a blank piece of paper. When we were waiting for our luggage he did not help us get it off the carousel. It was only when we got outside and loading up the car did he even try to help us. And on top of that he expected a tip for doing nothing. When he stuck out his hand for his tip, we paid him a small tip because we didn't want trouble. This is the first of many bad impressions we had with the Dakkak staff in Jordan and it gets significantly worse.

We met our driver, Mohammed Jamous who was the nightmare who ruined our trip and left me in tears. I have never met someone who was so rude and disrespectful who took us on a 1 hour drive to our first stop Jerash. We were promised an English speaking guide, but Jamous could barely speak a phrase of coherent English let alone an entire sentence. He could barely understand any questions we had and constantly dismissed anything we said or asked.

Upon arriving at Jerash, he immediately proceeded to walk a 1/4 mile away from us and we kept asking him to slow down. He only kept saying, "I get guide. Walk." My Mom is old and shouldn't have to run to keep up with our guide. He should be waiting for us, yet he could care less.

We met our guide who gave us a nice 1 hour walking tour where we saw many examples of Greek influences in the architecture. We saw what used to be a thriving commercial city that had complex sewer systems, entertainment center and multi-level shops.

After our tour of Jerash, we were starving. We really wanted to eat something simple at our hotel but our guide kept insisting that hotel food was extremely expensive in Jordan and we would be better off eating at a local restaurant, Green Valley Restaurants, which was very very cheap. When we asked him what type of food Jordanian food was since I am allergic to seafood and did not want to go to a restaurant that served seafood without a proper translator. We decided to chance it and try some Jordanian food. We ended up ordering a mix kebab plate with gigantic bread for dipping with the various sauces. I had to look at other patrons plate and do a thumbs up in order to order. It was okay but ended up costing $42 USD when Jamous told us it would be no more than $12 USD a person. I asked to see the menu but Jamous kept taking it out of my hands saying, "In Arabic, no English." Then why I said I wanted to see the pictures, he said, "No, only Arabic." The food was okay, the meat was extremely greasy esp. the lamb. The chicken was so dry you had to dip it into something before you ate it. The bread was dirty as the waiters held it with their hands as they carried to your table so we threw out the top piece out. The worst part was when we were ready to leave he wasn't so we had to wait about 15 minutes for him. Really? Aren't we the paying customers?

We were really tired and just wanted to go to our hotel to rest esp. since we were going to Petra the next day. When we got to our hotel, Jamal did not even try to carry our bags. My Mom even asked him to help and he just ignored us and walked away. We were left to fend for ourselves while he went to check us in at the front desk. Prior to depart he told us pick up in the hotel lobby the following morning at 8 AM. When we asked him how long the drive was and what we needed to prepare for the following day, he looked at us with a blank face. The hotel staff had to translate for us as Jamous did not have very good command of the English language. I was just glad that we at least were in a Marriott so we finally would have access to the internet. Hooray for Facetime and emails!!!

Side note, I went around our hotel, Marriott Amman to check out the prices for a meal and they were no more than $13 USD a person for local cuisine or even a hamburger meal at the sports bar, Champions. Even the fine dining restaurant had a fish entree with sides for less than $13 USD a plate. Jamous was a liar and cheat. I'm sure he got kickback from the restaurant for taking and swindling us.

Cairo, Egypt: Day Eight (11/27)

We had the opportunity to change guides. To our surprise, we had a female guide named Rahed. She wasn't your typical Egyptian woman. She was loud, a working woman and eager to learn about other cultures as well as share her's.

One thing I learned from Rahed is that men are considered to the superior gender and given preference. Women generally only work as a nurse, school teacher or if the family was wealthy, a women would stay at home out of public sight. She described life as an Egyptian woman as lonely as women do not even socialize with each other. I asked her what she does for fun and she said she often found comfort in eating.

Today, we started out the day with breakfast at our hotel overlooking the beautiful Giza Pyramids. It's a sight I could look at daily. It was so serene and cool that we were that close to one of the 8 wonders of the world.

Here are some city views from the car on the way to the Egyptian Museum.

After being picked up, we spent the day in Cairo, the city. Our first stop was the Egyptian Museum and where President Mohamed Morsi's office was next to. Outside the museum, we had to surrender our cameras to guards armed in tanks and machines guns. I was def. not going to disobey the rules here. However, we were allowed our iPhone and allowed to take pictures outdoors after our tour.

Inside the Egyptian Museum was like stepping back in time. How so you ask? It felt like someone's overflowing attic. There were tags printed with a typewriter still used and some tags printed by a computer and some tags that were handwritten. The display cases were mismatched and it seemed like they were never upgraded once the artifact was placed. Then the way the items were displayed shows that they didn't really have an artifact room and everything they had was on display. Sarcophagus's were stacked on top of each other and many of the items looked as if they needed a humidity controlled room. However, the highlight of the trip was the mummy room, for an additional fee of course. That was the only "modern" room with air conditioning and humidity controls. We were able to see both Kings and Queens and different mummification processes. The animal artifact room was also cool to see the love of animals the ancient Egyptians had. I never knew that they would mummify their horses, dogs, birds. etc. Very cool.

Next stop was Coptic Cairo which houses many churches and was believed to have housed the Holy Family (Baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph). We only went to visit the Hanging Church and Ben Ezra Synagogue. Inside the Hanging Church, there is a well that the Holy Family drank out of and the walls are covered with great Byzantine art, my personal favorite. Byzantine art typically is gold leafed and features religious scenes esp of Mary with a halo. I don't know why I love this period so much when the portraits were so unrealistic and the gold leaf is rather tacky but it's what I focused on when I studied Art History in college. When we went to Ben Ezra Synagogue, we were show where baby Moses was supposedly found. The architecture inside show the mix of Jewish traditions with menorahs (the 9 candle holder), mezuzah (wrapped paper wishes in the door), and decor. However, there was def. Egyptian influence with the lights, layout and tapestry.

By the time we finished, it was almost 2 pm and we were starving. We were lucky to eat at a place called La Cuisine. We were treated to some hummus, roasted potatoes, grilled fish, roasted chicken, beef kebabs, mixed vegetables, rice and assorted Egyptian pastries. Yum!!! I love how everything is fresh and not processed. Locally grown and locally made.

To work off our lunch, we headed to the Saladin Citadel. At the top of the citadel, you get a panoramic view of Cairo. Despite being smoggy, you can see how densely populated the city is. Inside the citadel it is the tomb of Mohammed Ali, hence the name of the mosque, Mohamed Ali Alabaster Mosque. Again, they don't know if the body is really buried there but a lot of devout believers come to pay their respects. The inside courtyard was amazing in size and architecture. Make sure to pay attention to the clock, a gift from the US which was never worked. Doh!

Our last stop was the Khan El Khalili Bazaar so I could finally buy my cartouche with my initials. Happiness is when I get something one of a kind to remind me of my travels.

But we realized it was Thanksgiving back in the US, so we made a quick stop to KFC near the Giza Pyramids to pick up some fried chicken. Be warned, there is no cole slaw, french fries or even biscuits. We ended up eating very oddly seasoned chicken, some tabbouleh like salad with some very stale pita bread. Not exactly what we hoped for but def. an experience. Next time, def. do McDonald's instead.